Category Archives: Nursing Student

Last night I went for a run at Gulley Park. I used to run there regularly, so it’s like visiting an old friend when, like yesterday, I got to run it after so long being away.

Running is like church. When I’m running I feel like I could fly, and sometimes I do run with my arms raised like a bird. Yes, I’m that crazy lady on the trail, but I don’t care because it feels so damn good. There is so much joy and gratitude in being able to run outside in January here in Arkansas. Our weather is so erratic in the winter that it will be 60 and sunny one day and 20 degrees the next. So we grab the good days when we can and fly with them. It feels amazing and I’m so grateful to be able to run, grateful that my body has allowed me at this point in my life to be able to feel that joy. The exhileration is priceless. Immeasurable. Beautiful.

I was listening to the John Butler Trio radio station on Spotify. Let me just take a detour and say that Craig has been telling me about the John Butler Trio for years. We will be listening to them and every time I ask him, “Who is that? I really like them.” And he patiently answers, “The John Butler Trio. You ask me that every time.” I finally got the message and played them voluntarily on my own for the first time yesterday. As I listened to the John Butler Trio and ran up the hill next to the pine trees with all the young lovers giggling in their double hammocks together, breathing the cool air deep into my lungs for that sweet burning sensation that I love, and that feeling of my body burning with effort, I thought about my friend Eileen who just started her first rounds of chemo on Friday. She runs too. But she can’t right now because she needs to take a break and let her body kick some serious cancer booty.

I know she is in good hands. She has a great team of nurses helping her, a great doctor, and an amazing and supportive husband and beautiful family, not to mention a supportive community.

In my joyful, exhilerating, and grateful run I am intentionally lifting Eileen up to a space where she can tap into that joy and exhileration and heal her body. This is church. And yes, if you see me lifting my arms like a bird when I’m running you might think I’m crazy, but I don’t care because in my own way I’m lifting Eileen up so that she can soar. And no, Episcopaleans aren’t known for lifting up their hands during a service, but I think they’d appreciate the sentiment of surrender, acceptance, and grace. We are gratefully and joyously receiving the blessing that is this life, this breath, this moment.

She’ll be done with chemo in July and hopefully back running again soon. In the meantime I hope to be able to keep lifting her up in my practice till she can get back on the trail and do it herself.

With gratitude

Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, entrepreneur, student nurse tech at a local hospital, a Raw Food Enthusiast and educator, a world traveler in pursuit of superior massage education, a Master Massage Therapist of 22 plus years, a gardener, and a nursing student. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health.

In July I was playing catch with my son Ben in the city pool with a waterlogged ball and it jammed my finger. The thing never healed and in November I went to get it X-rayed because it seemed ridiculous that it wouldn’t have healed in that amount of time. VA health care is amazing. They X-rayed my finger in all possible directions and called me in November with the verdict. Arthritis.

At first I was like hm. That sucks. And I went back to work thinking nothing more of it.

In the next couple of weeks I noticed that all my fingers ached. They felt like the had gum or taffy around the joints, my hands ached when I did massages, and I was having pain with everyday use. Playing volleyball with my boys jarred my fingers, Whenever Craig would squeeze my hands, a loving gesture, it surprised us both when I yelped in pain. Opening jars in the kitchen was a challenge.

It took me a while to comprehend what having arthritis in my fingers meant to me in the grand scheme of things. I have discovered that it means I can no longer practice massage therapy. Yes, my doctor had to tell me this before I got the hint, especially since doing massage for 22 years caused the problem to begin with.

This is the new normal.

So, I.M. Spa had just started renovating the new space for expansion. We were adding a yoga studio and an extra treatment room, as well as building in plans to expand and include a smoothie bar when my life wasn’t so complicated with nursing school. We had just bought $350 worth of body wax and thousands in Eminence products.

Towards the end of December it was clear that there was no other decision to make. We had to close I.M. Spa.

What does this mean to you if you are a client? We are in the process of negotiating a new home for our clients. You don’t need to worry about using your gift certificates. There will be a place for you to go, but because this happened so fast we are still navigating that territory. When we get it sorted out (within the next couple of weeks) we will give you detailed instructions. You should be able to simply call the same number and book an appointment in the new location.

If you currently have an appointment you will be rescheduled. It’s going to be okay. We anticipate having a ton of phone calls in reaction to this information. I would encourage you to wait a couple weeks to call (Mid-January) while we find a home for you. If you feel like you can’t wait, then please leave a detailed message when you do call.

I feel very fortunate for being able to touch people the way we have been able to with I.M. Spa. I have worked on this business for 10 years and it has been amazing. Our clients are fabulous, a wonderful network of extended family that I will miss immensely.

Building this business has taught me so much. I have learned that I have tremendous stamina and drive (enough to crush the cartilege in between my finger joints :). I have learned to do accounting, marketing, managing, human resources, retail (not the favorite), and conflict resolution. I have learned how tremendously difficult it is to be a small business owner and I love our community of small business owners in downtown Fayetteville. They exist because you consciously choose to support them. I have learned that I love helping people, and no matter where I end up, I know that that is what I want to do.

If you know anybody who needs an awesome, organized, reliable, loyal, good tempered problem solver let us know, because sweet Natalie needs a job now. She definitely gets stuff done! Don’t have them contact me unless they plan to pay her well and take good care of her because she deserves it.

Thank you for supporting I.M. Spa for the past 10 years. And keep an eye out for our next newsletter!!

Love, love, love, and Happy New Year!! Wendy

Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, owner of I.M. Spa, student nurse tech at a local hospital, a Raw Food Enthusiast and educator, a world traveler in pursuit of superior massage education, a Master Massage Therapist of 22 plus years, a gardener, and a nursing student. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health.

It has been almost 2 years since my husband Craig and I both decided to go to nursing school full time. At the time I didn’t think there was any way possible for me to continue with I.M. Spa and be in school full time, and I am grateful every day for the opportunity to keep walking into our space and connecting with our community through health and massage. I’m grateful to our staff because they truly are the ones who have made it happen.

We’re also grateful to you. Without you choosing to get massage, facials, acupuncture, and waxing at I.M. Spa we would not be here. Thank you for choosing I.M. Spa for your bodywork needs. I’m so honored every time I walk into a treatment room that I get to share that space with this community.

I am busier than I have ever been at this point in my life. I work with I.M. Spa, I go to nursing school full time, I have a part time job at the VA as a student nurse tech to get experience, and I have 3 of my 4 kids at home doing everything they do. Thank goodness we have such an amazing community helping us out. Friends helping pick up our kids from school when we’re in class, friends helping kids get where they need to go, community everywhere supporting us all along the way. You know who you are :). Fayetteville is an amazing place and I can’t imagine making it through without this beautiful combination of people in our community. We’re so grateful.

I’m really looking forward to getting done with nursing school in May of 2016! What a relief that will be! We’ll have to have a party!

There are some exciting changes in the works for I.M. Spa. We are moving to Evelyn Hills (next to Ozark Natural Foods, Uncle Sam’s, Cardamom & Curry, Treasures from Africa, and Handmade) and expanding to include a yoga studio. Downtown has been good to us. We are looking forward to more great neighbors, great parking, a place for you to drop off your kids while you get a facial or do a yoga class (Arkadia), and continuing doing what we do best.

We’ll keep you posted as the transition happens. We’ll be on Block Street till the beginning of January. And then we’ll have a big party in the new space!! In August we will have been on Block Street for 6 years! Hard to believe. It has been a sweet time.

Thank you for continuing to support I.M. Spa! We look forward to serving you. It’s a favorite.

Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, owner of I.M. Spa, student nurse tech at the VA hospital, a Raw Food Enthusiast and educator, a world traveler in pursuit of superior massage education, a Master Massage Therapist of 20 plus years, a gardener, and a nursing student. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health. Schedule an appointment for a massage 479-251-7422

When you have a small business and you are a full time nursing student and you have four sons, it’s important that you grab every moment you can to do special things like go up to Mt. Sequoyah at sunset with your 10 year old. These are the best things in life, eh? Not to mention, he got up early with me this morning to do yoga together. My life is amazing.

Another Cross in the Sky Tonight

Spring is my favorite. Vibrant colors. Clouds. Fresh turned dirt. Clouds. Sunshine. So much green. Fayetteville is amazing in the Spring, and I’m so glad I get to share it with my sons. Makes me breathe deeper just looking at these pictures.

I just finished up a clinical rotation in Mental Health this semester. It’s enough to make you suffer from depression! Or at the very least need a massage for your Mental Health.

Our instructors and books say repeatedly that our jail systems are the biggest warehouse for the mentally ill. There may not be any inpatient beds for somebody suffering with psychosis, but somehow they fit right into our jails. Our mentally ill are being incarcerated for behaviors that are a result of mental illness, schizophrenia, bipolar, depression, post traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer’s, or addiction. Many of them are homeless. They need treatment, medications, and support.

And probably the most depressing part of Mental Health Clinicals is the adolescent unit. These kids have endured trauma and abuse beyond what I can fathom, and when they leave the treatment facility will return to the people and situations that caused their pain to begin with. It’s downright depressing.

And it’s not just that there is a little bit of mental illness. Mental health is similar to physical health. Sometimes you get sick. Most of the time you’re pretty healthy. And sometimes you have a lifelong illness (physical or mental) that needs lifelong treatment. Most people can identify times in their lives when they were out of balance, overly anxious, stressed, depressed, or just not functioning as well mentally as they know they are capable. And all of us know people in our family, friends, or community who are suffering with more extreme forms of those imbalances. Mental illness touches us all.

I’m grateful for the dedicated Mental Health care professionals that I have met this semester. God Bless Them! We need them so badly. We need funding and policy changes to allow mental health the same importance and voice that physical problems like cancer get. We need more health care providers to get excited about helping people with mental health problems, to serve health care in that capacity.

I actually feel guilty because I prefer to work with people with their guts falling out than with mental health problems, because at least if your guts are falling out I can stuff ’em back inside and slap a bandage on it. In mental health, the guts are falling out, and people are bleeding out, but you can’t stuff it back in. You can’t see it. It’s not so easy. I guess I feel disempowered by mental illness. There is no immediate fix, no bandage, just a winding road of possibilities and not enough resources for long term support.

But at the same time, I deal with mental illness/health all the time in a positive way, on the massage table. And it has been a very empowering relationship. People come to us in pain, grieving loss, with anxiety and depression, and needing help with dealing with the stress of everyday life on the planet. We are honored every day that our community chooses to come to us for stress relief.

According to University of Maryland, massage makes us feel better by the “release of endorphins (natural painkillers and mood elevators),” and reducing the levels of stress hormones (cortisol). Endorphins are one of the main neurotransmitters involved in depression and bipolar.

Massage Therapy for Mental Health

So, looking at the mental health problems our country is faced with right now may be devastatingly depressing, but thank goodness there is massage therapy for those times when we are in pain, grieving loss, having anxiety and depression, and needing help with dealing with the stress of everyday life on the planet. I guess massage is the bandage that I feel empowered by when dealing with the guts of every day mental health/illness. I’m grateful to have it in my life.

If this post was so stressful that you now need a massage, call 479-251-7422 to schedule an appointment. Or you could just come get a massage because you know you need it. Or because we haven’t seen you in forever. Please pop in to I.M. Spa to see us when you are downtown for the Farmer’s Market! If for no other reason than that it is good for OUR mental health to see you!

Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, owner of I.M. Spa, a Raw Food Enthusiast and educator, a world traveler in pursuit of superior massage education, a Master Massage Therapist of 20 plus years, a gardener, and a nursing student. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health. Schedule an appointment for a massage 479-251-7422

Today was the first day back in nursing school after a 3 week break. And during the break I took some time to try to define what was important to me to keep up with if it was at all possible during the craziness that is full time nursing school, full time business owner, and full time mama of four boys.

My 2015 Planner (covered with post its).

Things I put in my planner were:

I want to continue to run to school and to work, but I’m also training for the Hogeye Half Marathon with my son Sean (he’s 16) and Ellie, a young colleague from nursing school. We’re training 5 days a week. Yeah. I don’t know how that’s gonna get done either–but there it is.

I want to meditate daily-15minutes.

I want to blog 3 days a week and not get onto myself if it’s not perfect. I at least need to show up.

I want to do yoga with Ben one day a week (Mondays because it’s a rest day from running). When your nine year old kid wants to do something with you, you’d better make time for it, because God knows, soon enough he’s going to have a life that is too busy for yoga dates with mom (hopefully not, but it’s a distinct possibility).

I want to continue developing my book. Yeah, I said it.

I want to invite friends over to play once a month. Because I love them and they’re just going to have to forgive my messy home. It is what it is.

I really don’t know if there are actually enough hours in the day for this crazy list. But surely if I just do a little bit regularly I will be okay. I’ll try to keep you posted on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. But if you don’t hear from me for a while, you’ll know that I’m buried with school work.

Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, owner of I.M. Spa, a Raw Food Enthusiast and educator, a world traveler in pursuit of superior massage education, a Master Massage Therapist of 20 plus years, a gardener, and a nursing student. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health. Schedule an appointment for a massage 479-251-7422

If you go to the doctor they will tell you to take these antibiotics 2 times a day for the next 10 days. If you go to the physical therapist they will tell you to come back and see them 3 times a week for the next 4 weeks, twice a week for the following 2 weeks, and once a week for the month after that.

If you go to the massage they say, “See how you are feeling and give us a call when you need us.”

The problem is, we forget to think about how we are feeling until our bodies are screaming at us. We need some general recommendations for how often it is appropriate to get massage.

I can tell you that if you are preparing for a marathon, it’s a good idea to step up your massage sessions to weekly, with serious emphasis on leg massage. You might want to do it in conjunction with your long runs. You will notice a change in your performance and your legs will feel amazing. It’s okay to do twice a week sessions as well if you are having a lot of tension or pain.

If you are suffering with muscle spasms you can do massage several times a week until you reach a happy place. You can even shorten the massages to 20 to 30 minutes if you are only focusing on one area.

If you are recovering from an injury it is common to coordinate massage therapy with your physical therapy schedule.

If you are only getting massage once or twice a year then you definitely need to step it up to quarterly. Put that appointment on the calendar before you leave the spa or it will not happen and the next thing you know, another year has gone by and you have not had a massage in all that time.

Don’t let that be you!

If you are healthy and only dealing with every day stress of life on the planet then once a month, or once every two weeks is optimum and I’ll tell you why this works for me:

It keeps me out of pain

It’s something I give intentionally to myself. If I have gotten my massage then not even poison bullets can’t take me down. I can handle whatever the world throws at me (I keep a picture of Wonder Woman on my refrigerator with her bullet deflecting wrist cuffs).

As a mom it gives me something that is quiet, special, and belongs only to me (I’m not sharing!).

It puts me in a meditative state (Alpha Level) similar to what you experience in Shavasana and it is completely rejuvenating.

It keeps me aware of my body. Very often I will ask people about their pain or their body and they have to stop and question themselves because they haven’t actually visited their bodies for a while. When I get massage I often discover areas that need my attention that I didn’t know existed. You can’t maintain your body if you don’t know where you need maintenance. The massage therapist is like a tour guide for your body.

It feels amazing. One of my goals in life is to be as healthy as possible, have as much energy as possible (with my food), and feel as good as possible. If I don’t make time to feel amazing it is harder to know that it is a possibility.

Relaxation takes practice. Meditation takes practice. Anything you want to do well takes practice. I have watched many clients start receiving massage therapy and not know how to let go and receive. They want to hold their arm up to help with the massage. I still find myself tensing up sometimes when the therapist lifts my head to massage my neck. Learning how to relax on the massage table teaches me how to relax in my real life situations when I’m frustrated.

It’s good for my heart and circulation, calms my nervous system and digestion, and obviously good for my muscles. Supple muscles do better work that hypertrophied taut muscles. Moving through life with supple muscles is a much better approach.

Keeps me from getting injured easily.

Mental health. It’s good for me and it’s good for my family. Everybody benefits from me feeling better.

If you can only make it to the spa quarterly go quarterly. If you can step it up to once a month you will definitely notice a difference. But if you can manage every two weeks it makes life worth living!

Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, owner of I.M. Spa, a Raw Food Enthusiast and educator, a world traveler in pursuit of superior massage education, a Master Massage Therapist of 20 plus years, a gardener, and a nursing student. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health. Schedule an appointment for a massage 479-251-7422

I am a low maintenance woman, trucking through my days, minding my own business. I never look in the mirror, and I’m doing good to coordinate my clothes from one day to the next. I just don’t have time for it.

But every now and then I notice my legs are flaking, my feet are cracked, and my face is dry like the Sahara.

One of my 20 year old colleagues in nursing school showed me her hands one day and they did look like dry cracked desert ground. They were to the point of bleeding. She was using a generic cleanser that had lotion in it with mineral oil (besides constantly using hand sanitizer at our clinical site. One time we were in post conference and I pointed out to her that while we had been sitting there she had sanitized her hands 3 times–serious overkill). And she was using a lotion with mineral oil in it as well. She had been putting the generic lotion on at night with socks on her hands to try to keep the lotion in, but she didn’t realize that mineral oil actually robs the skin and causes a dependence on the lotion (even though the lotion isn’t really helping–nice marketing strategy eh?).

I brought her some organic, beeswax based Badger Balm for Hardworking Hands and told her to start using a basic nontoxic soap like Dr. Bronner’s (diluted). She started using the Badger Balm on her hands at bedtime with socks on them and 4 days later I asked her about it.

Badger Balm Body Butter

She said, “Oh my God, I wanted to text you guys (our clinical group) a picture because, look at my hands! They are so much better.”

It has been my experience that organic, natural, basic products work better than mainstream products created by large chemical companies. Don’t get sucked in by the pretty packaging and the unsubstantiated claims. Your skin needs edible products, not shelf stable chemicals.

Want a recipe for an amazing home facial? Go here to read about our facial post.

In the meantime, if you are ready for your skin to be well cared for, come in to see us and we will cleanse, exfoliate, mask, and moisturize you so that you can once again face the brutal cold that is winter.

And yes, we carry Badger Balm, Eminence Organics, and other clean products that you can trust. Come on in and play with the samples.

Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, owner of I.M. Spa, a Raw Food Enthusiast and educator, a world traveler in pursuit of superior massage education, a Master Massage Therapist of 20 plus years, a gardener, and a nursing student. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health. Schedule an appointment for a massage 479-251-7422

This has been an amazing and busy year. I wonder if I’m normal because I take on so much work. Does everybody do that?

There are so many amazing things I want to get into and so little time.

My Stroller makes it possible for me to run everywhere I go

My year in review:

Completed 3 semesters of nursing school with a 4.0 gpa (not sure that matters to anybody but me, but there it is).

My Clinical Group 2014

Fed my family mostly vegan, mostly raw, most of the year!

Ate lots of veggies out of my own garden (which was a miracle because I had zero time for gardening).

Kept my business going for a whole year while I simultaneously attended nursing school.
I.M. Spa Store Front

Also didn’t think that was possible. There are amazing people who work at I.M. Spa, that’s all there is to it.

Took my work crew to Dallas spas and raw food restaurants.

I.M. Spa Crew

Traveled to Disney World with my family over Spring Break.

Ben Wins the School Spelling Bee

Watched my kids: win the school spelling bee (Ben), play soccer and baseball (Zach and Ben), march in band (Sean) and go to Disney with the Band, sing a solo in the St. Paul’s Christmas Pagaent (Ben), take crazy courses in college like Calculus 3 and chemical engineering (Levi), attend their first homecoming dance (Sean), and fall in love with drumming (Zach).

Floated the Buffalo River with dear friends.

Float the Buffalo

Saw Boston in concert.

Revived my meditation practice.

Ran to school and work regularly.

Made dreamcatchers with my mom and just always love being with her.

Made Dream Catchers with My Mom

Watched Craig pour a concrete slab for a Hot Tub that we have not yet found. Watched Craig do amazing things in personal growth, change his food, and get his blood pressure under control with meditation. He amazes me. And he bikes 60 miles round trip to nursing school in Bentonville.

I am so grateful to be here and can’t even begin to imagine what kinds of things we’ll be getting into this year. I’m glad to have survived a year of nursing school while being a working mom, and I am constantly amazed at all the opportunities and experiences that we have.

What are you grateful for this year?

Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, owner of I.M. Spa, a Raw Food Enthusiast and educator, a world traveler in pursuit of superior massage education, a Master Massage Therapist of 20 plus years, a gardener, and a nursing student. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health. Schedule an appointment for a massage 479-251-7422

If you have been following Craig’s (my husband of 25 years) story you know that he was able to get his Low Density Lipoprotein levels from 148 (high) to 117 (almost normal) after 4 months of raw and vegan eating. But his Blood Pressure remained high. Often it was 150/90 which is Stage 1 Hypertension.

Don’t be fooled by the “Stage 1” part of Hypertension. There are only 2 stages. 150/90 is not good. 110/70 to 120/80 is normal.

We weren’t sure where to go with the meditation at first. I guess the concept of meditation doesn’t feel weird to me. Just sit and breathe and let your body slip into Alpha state. But to do it with somebody who wants guidance or a method hadn’t occurred to me. Also during this time many of my clients have been asking me pointed questions about meditation, how to do it, and where to go for resources. There are tons of resources for learning how to meditate. Here in Northwest Arkansas there are classes all over the place. Classes are a great way to experience many different types of meditation to find one that works for you.

I looked into Transcendental Meditation and the Silva Method of meditation. They are both expensive but well reviewed and researched methods. I did not take the TM course, because as a starving nursing student it does not fit into the budget. But a long time ago a friend of mine gifted me some Silva Method recordings and they are fabulous, especially if you need a step by step method to feel like you are doing it right.

Turns out Craig was okay without a method and it works pretty amazing whether you pay somebody $1000 to learn or not. You can see his results after just 14 days of meditating once a day for 15 minutes.

Date

Blood Pressure

Time

12/4/2014

150/90

4pm

12/4/2014

135/88

11pm

12/5/2014

138/90

6:40pm

12/10/2014

124/80

pre-meditation

12/10/2014

108/77

post-meditation

12/10/2014

118/66

at Drs. Office later

12/17/2014

120/74

post-meditation

12/17/2014

118/60

post-meditation

12/18/2014

110/68

pre-meditation

12/18/2014

108/70

post-meditation

He went from 150/90 to 108/70 in 2 weeks. Yes I know my method for recording is not daily. But it was finals at Nursing School and I did the best I could. The numbers speak for themselves. You just can’t make that up.

One of the questions people always ask me is, “Is he exercising?” Yes Craig rides his bicycle from Fayetteville to Bentonville and back (60 miles round trip) once or twice a week, and all over Fayetteville recreationally the rest of the week.

Another that I always hear is, “I can’t get my mind to stop so that I can meditate. I never feel like I’m doing it right.” I always hear that there is no right way and no wrong way to meditate. That being said there are times when I don’t “get there.” Usually when that happens it’s because of interruptions. I get a little irritated but I have to forgive myself. I think this might be key to people who criticize themselves so much they can’t let go and sink in. Forgiveness and practice are the key. Show up to your practice every day.

One of the things that Craig and I have learned about our meditation practice is that it is not a good idea to wake up from a dead sleep and start meditating. That might have been a no brainer, but at the time it seemed like it might be a more efficient use of our time. NOT.

We also discovered that we prefer 15 minutes to 10. Ten minutes is okay, but we just barely sink in and start floating before the timer is going off.

I aspire to meditate 3 times a day for 15 minutes each time. Morning, noon, and night seems like a good recipe. I’ll keep you posted about how it is going for Craig. It’s scary coming into your 40s and staring those numbers in the face.

Do you have methods you use for keeping your blood pressure down? What types of meditation do you practice?

Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, owner of I.M. Spa, a Raw Food Enthusiast and educator, a world traveler in pursuit of superior massage education, a Master Massage Therapist of 20 plus years, a gardener, and a nursing student. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health. Schedule an appointment for a massage 479-251-7422